Haunted House Rebate(Hoax)

OK, How 'bout then ten story building that is made
into the most horrorfying haunted house on the planet.

You pay $ 10.00 to get in, and get a dollar back for
every level you can possibly make it thru, this is not only
hoaky, but a hoax. Why?

1. If everybody made it thru, they would go in the hole.
2. It would take 10 times the personnel to man it,
where would you get out at?
3. Besides being decapitated, what would make ANY
true lover of haunted houses TURN BACK! :o

I always laugh when I hear this story. I work on, in, and for a haunted house here in Western, PA. Every year, we have a customer come through that repeats this story. Nearly every year, it is the exact same story, only the location changes or other minor stuff.

And every year, those of us that work at the haunted house laugh when we hear it. It wouldn't work, for those reasons you stated, especially number 3. Those of us that work on and love haunted houses would see it as a challenge more than anything. Plus, when you get to know all the tricks of the trade, it becomes more difficult to actually scare a person.

I know with myself, it has been quite some time since a haunted house has scared me (although one strolling goblin got me at Cedar Point 2 years ago, but he had the element of surprise when he jumped out of a very smokey spot) and I see other people that are lovers of haunted attractions come through our house, they appreciate the work and the effects, but rarely get scared.

Boy, this turned into a long post, didn't mean to ramble on, but I just have to laugh at that story!

Thank you for the warm welcome, I have always loved
this story too! I always laugh when someone tells me
of this "Haunted Holy Grail" of houses, when I ask where
it is, the reply always is " Uhm, I was not there but my cousins, best friend told me about it" I just go along with it, cause it's their story, I suppose they can tell it any way they want(LOL)

Also thanks for the kind words on my graphics stuff, this
place is great for my need for "Haunting Moods" I shall
be a regular before ya know it!

I have been hearing about this type of haunted house for so many years now that i cant even remember how long its been. So far it has never been found in my area. A couple of friends and myself have been discussing how a haunted house of this nature could be made and have some really great ideas that would definately work to prevent anyone from finishing the haunt (that I can not share here) because one of these days we might actually find some millionaire to bankroll it for us.

Now as far as haunted houses go there is one in New Orleans, La. called the House of Shock. As far as they go this is the best one I have seen yet. It is the only pagan based house of its kind in this area. you will not find your average ghost or goblin in here. Instead you will find gore out of this world. And if you are not real steady you will get a bit jumpy from time to time. Here is the website for it and if any of you make it this far south during the month of October it is a sure treat for those that enjoy this type of thing.

Thank you to for the welcome, I just was posting you
when I hit a key, and got disconnected, I hate when that happens(LOL).

Is it me, or have the general state of haunted houses
gone down hill? In fact, with so many communities
trying to ban Halloween, it has become a daylight only
sport! To quote an author, " Halloween was the only time you ever got to meet your neighbor 5 houses
down."

I grew up in a little farming community in
central IL, and Halloween, autumn, and the harvest
were magical times, we had the best haunted house
located in an abandoned factory! But these days have
found little in the way of "haunts." I still live for the
fall, Halloween and I guess I am trying to regain some
of my youth. I started designing haunted graphics to keep my love for the season alive all year. I have to do other things to support my "haunted habit(LOL)" such as
play music, write music, and design watch ads and design new timepieces.

I guess what I am rambling on about is, I miss the days
when Halloween was truly a "scary" time, and on that
note I will quit whining(GRIN)

I don't know if I would say that haunted houses have disappeared, but most have sold out. Most of the ones around here are "for profit" and the people are paid. And the show still stinks!

The haunted house I work benefits several local charities, including the Make a Wish foundation. Our volunteers are not paid (if we were, I'd be a millionaire by now) and do it because they love the fall season or out of the goodness of their hearts.

With all the stuff (costumes and masks) out there that you can buy, the sites on the internet that tell you how to do special effects, and any old garage, you can throw together a haunted house. It's usually filled with Jason masks, scream masks, and lots of witches and zombies. It's great traditional stuff, but I am not paying 15 bucks to see that kind of stuff. It's cool if it is in someones back yard, but not cool if it is advertised all over the area.

At TERRORS BY THE LAKE (the haunted house that I am involved with) we have gotten away from the traditional stuff and have developed original stuff. We have a great creative director with some awesome ideas! Benzy has forbidden the word BOO to be said and he goes balistic if he sees a Jason or Scream mask. He does most of the stuff by hand and it is awesome.

I have to say, this place means a lot to me. I met my husband there, he proposed to me there (with a chainsaw in his hands) and I have met many good friends there.

And Travis, it is great that you have those ideas, keep them with you. But I will warn you, even with the financial backing and all the money in the world, it would be difficult to run a place like that. Although people like to be scared, there are few in this world that would actually be up to that challenge. But your biggest problem would be all the protest groups that would take offense to the gore. And they can get down right nasty.

I just went to the site, GOD I wish I lived by you! We
have a couple of houses in Chicago area that are OK,
they have the potential to be AWESOME, but the people
running it don't have a clue, it's Jason masks for all...

The one that comes to mind in particular, is our house
that is on the grounds of an old state mental hospital
by Statesville Prison, it has the feel, and REAL haunts
to be a super frightening experience, if anyone of US
ran that, there could be a REBATE given(LOL)

Back to work on the graphics, oh BTW, your hubby
sounds too cool, proposing with a chain saw, now
that is my kinda family!!!!!!!!

Just my 2 cp. I used to live in Las Vegas, and there is a couple there who run about five haunted houses in Oct. They hire local people who they think will be dedicated to the project. They have very strict requirements for participation. You must join through a audition, and you may only get a position as an understudy at first, as there are many repeat performers involved. You may only mis one performance, on the second missed performance, you are replaced by your understudy. There is a DAILY rehearsal for a month prior to the openings, and you must attend all the rehearsals or your out. They don't do the usual horror flix shlock, and the production is top notch. No one under 18 is allowed without an adult in attendence with them, and ID's are checked. I met this guy through my work there, and was invited to be a performer, but much to my disappointment, could not live up to the requirements at the time. Also ran across an entire farm that had been abandoned for sometime, and the new owners converted it to a haunted farm type attraction, but for the life of me can't remember where it was.
Maurice.

That place in Lost Wages sounds excellent, to bad those
are so far and few in between! To turn an abandoned
farm into a permanent haunted attraction is probably
the holy grail for me, now if I could find the perfect
autumn climate year round, this would be icing on the cake!
If you ever remember where it is, LET ME KNOW!

There are seven commercial haunted houses about twenty minutes to half an hour from where I live. There's Catacombs, The Beast, Fear, The Edge of Hell, Main Street Morgue, Nightmares and Transylvania. One of them, I think it's The Beast, is different every week. It's closed on Mondays so they can change it. The Main Street Morgue was supposedly a real morgue and it's more haunted than a commercial haunted house should be, The Edge of Hell was the best, I thought, because nothing jumped out at you. I don't like things jumping at me. Freddy Kreuger made an appearance at The Edge of Hell, I believe. Some of these houses have lame effects, like a maze made of fences, and rubber mannequins hanging from the walls with their stomach's cut open and guts spilling out, a skeleton girl sitting at a vanity, a cemetery with headstones and the only way to get out is through the hearse, a snake jumping out at you from the ceiling, God shows up in one and tells you if your going to heaven or hell. I went to hell twice while my boyfriend went to heaven. A friend asked if we'd seen God in Lord of the Rings. This isn't one haunted house, these examples are from all seven of them. Near the end of one, a guy chases you with a chainsaw.
In the Beast, I believe. it's like a regular mansion but Beetlejuice makes an appearance. You walk up a flight of steps into the main floor. From then on, anything can happen. Ghouls jump out from behind columns, there's a living room and you can see a ghost dancing in the mirror. Take a left and your 'outside'. It's like a backyard. It's completely dark, except for the few colored lights, and you have to make your way to the end. Then, you come to a creature of some sort; I don't know since I divert my eyes at this point. Then, you keep walking and come to a slide. Down the slide, it's like a town. Completely 'foggy'. Keep walking, then come to woods, I guess. There's so much 'fog' that you can't see, and it's a bear on contact lenses. There are supposed to be gravestones, but since it's so 'foggy'you can't see anything in front of you, save the trees. Now, you have to find your way out. At this point, it is VERY easy to loose your party. I don't remember what happens after that. I can't give examples on every house because I don't remember which scene goes with what house. I'll have to tell you in September, 'cause that's when they're open.

Though I am an absolute chicken, I have yet to see a haunted house that was so scary I couldn't make it through - not to mention the fact it would be a complete fire hazard for people to go backwards. Now maybe this would work outside if they just got to cut out of the woods or fields or whatever to escape - but still, seems like it would be a potential insurance liability.

I have heard various versions of this urban legend. Supposedly this Haunted Attraction comes to some out of the way town on either compass direction of the United States. No one knows who runs it, nor how it just showed up in October from out of nowhere. The Haunted Attraction is usually located in an abandoned hospital, asylum, factory, or warehouse. There are multiple levels, with various themes. You pay a certain amount varying in price for admittance. Also if you make it through the whole attraction with out getting scared or going back to the entrance you win either your admittance back or a larger cash prize. However! No has made it or lived to tell the tale, and supposedly when residents go missing the investigation turns up nothing, because the haunted attraction mysteriously leaves town just like how it arrived only to return to another location for next October! (Now cue the Vincent Price laugh from Thriller)